Over a Century of Serving Our Community
The German-American Bank was organized as a private bank in Whittemore, IA
in September 1895, by John F. Shaible of Shreveport, IL and Rodney Hill of Britt, IA. The original bank building was constructed in 1895 and was located on the southwest corner of Main Street. It was the only building to survive the fire of 1898, which destroyed all the other buildings on the south side of the block. In 1917, the bank’s name was changed to Farmers State Bank when a new corporation was formed with Frank Bestenlehner as President and John Cullen as Cashier.
The bank has had 5 presidents in its history. J. F. Shaible was the bank’s first president in 1895, followed by Frank Bestenlehner in 1907. Vic Perkins became President in 1954 and held that position until 1980. John W. Geelan assumed the office in July of 1980 and served as Farmers State Bank President until 2004. Sean Noonan was named the 5th President and CEO of Farmers State Bank effective January 1, 2004 while John W. Geelan maintains the role of Chairman of the Board.
In 1968 the bank moved to a new, modern building located on the north side of Broad Street.
Due to the growth of the bank an expansion of that building was undertaken in 1990, which doubled the size of the facility. Then in September 1992, Farmers State Bank opened for business in Algona, IA with a full service bank located at 220 East State Street. With the continued growth of Farmers State Bank, they moved to a larger facility at 501 East State Street that included a drive-up for even more convenient banking. This remains the current location for the Algona office. On June 5, 2006, Farmers State Bank opened a bank in West Bend, IA. Now with three locations, Farmers State Bank provides services to a large community.